Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common diseases in the elderly. Due to the presence of comorbid conditions, geriatric patients are usually on more than 1 drug and hence this vulnerable population requires frequent monitoring. Drug utilization studies could provide feedback to prescribers and promote rational drug use.
Aims and Objectives: This study aims to analyze the drug prescribing pattern and rational use of antidiabetic drugs in geriatric age group with type 2 DMs. Materials and Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted from January 2017 to June 2018 in the geriatric Medicine Department at JSS Medical College and Hospital, Mysuru. Prescriptions were collected from geriatric diabetic patients and were analyzed for prescribing pattern and rational use of antidiabetic drugs. The data were subjected to suitable descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, using Microsoft Excel and SPSS Version 23.0.
Results: Out of 500 prescriptions analyzed, 706 antidiabetic drugs were prescribed, 90% were oral, 8.31% were injectable, and 1.69% were received both routes. Average number of antidiabetic drugs prescribed per prescription was 0.7. The most commonly prescribed oral hypoglycemic drug was metformin (66%), which was in combination with other antidiabetic drugs and alone. Drugs prescribed by generic name accounted for 18.9% and drugs from essential drug list were 41.78%.
Conclusion: The study showed that metformin was predominantly prescribed oral antidiabetic drug both as monotherapy and combination therapy. Prescribing drugs by brand name were high and from essential drug list were low.
Number of drugs prescribed per prescription was decreased which is a welcome sign and needs to be encouraged.
Key words: Diabetes Mellitus; Geriatric Age Group; Antidiabetic Drugs; Rational Drug Use; Essential Drugs; Fixed-Dose Combination
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